Ranko Saotome (Continuum-29715382)
Ranko Saotome ---19, Time Patrol Officer, Agent of Yggdrasil Appearance Background When Ranko was a little girl witnessed her mother slash both of her aunts, then sob with blood all over herself as she cried hysterically over what she had done, then tried to use the knife to end her own life. Grown ups had come into the room to look after her, but Ranko had gone catatonic with emotional withdrawal. The horrifying images replayed themselves in her mind over and over like an unending nightmare. It seemed as if the world itself dissolved until her Uncle Tofu had finished discussing something with her grandfather and grandmother, then Tofu did something to her hair and the memories went away, along with most of the pain, allowing Ranko to grow up fairly normal, if distraught and defensive, throughout most of the rest of her childhood. They had taken her memories away and erected some kind of a block that had prevented her from remembering what had happened. They told her pleasant lies about her parents dying in a heroic quest so that she wouldn't have to wonder what had happened, and then her great-great-grandfather had come into her life and started teaching her martial arts to add onto the basic training exercises that her parents had started her out on as soon as she could crawl. It had paid off as Ranko was now the toughest girl in her school; kilometers above even the nearest competitor who had ever dared try to spar with her. She could even whip the tar our of anybody who showed up at the dojo to challenge the Anything Goes school for supremacy in the arts, but nothing in her life had really seemed to matter all that much. She was the girl without parents at her school, the strange one most people avoided and few boys had the nerve to even approach. She was a solitary loner, and until this moment that was exactly how she wanted to live her life. One day a bunch of kid’s claiming to be her brothers, sisters, and cousins showed up on her door step. History A Very Scary Thought Ranko graduated top of her class in the academy and was finally made into a full-fledged Time Agent after Nabiki convinced the higher-ups by telling them that she and Ranma were the only ones who could keep each other in line. For her first field assignment was to investigate a recent cross-transference event that happened between Continuums 59343921 and 32145896. Since it bore Ranma and Nabiki’s signature they naturally went with her. Ranko was happy that she was going to get to see her friends Lylac and Kachima again only to be told that they were headed to a period when they were still babies. As they sat together within a fairly ordinary diner within the earthly plane that they had journeyed to for a visit Ranko began reminiscing about her friends. However when she started talking about Lylac’s brother Chusen Nabiki and Ranma became intrigued specifically when she informed them that he was something called an Eluini. The two informed her of what an Eluini was. Ranko was shocked to find out that he adopted mother was an Eluni and asked her if it had something to do with the assignment. Nabiki surprised at the question decided it did bear further inquiry. When her expression became thoughtful and momentarily abstracted Ranma knowing that she would be out to lunch for the next couple of minutes decided to go to the bathroom leaving Ranko to look after her paratime-aunt-turned-mother. Ranko sat contemplating her life when all of a sudden she felt a chill running down her spine, a sense of something looming in the background. It wasn't a bad feeling, not even a hostile one per se, but it did remind her overmuch of what it felt like when a giant passed her by that one time she had visited Meiko during her Einar training in Valhalla. Very slowly she turned her head and glanced outside the window, just in time to see the Silver Seagull materialize onto the road. When Udan exited the truck to Ranko's considerable dismay he turned and focused upon her, and then without a word he started forward. Sensing his presence Nabiki came out of her trance and went rigid when Ranko informed her that he was right behind her. Udan did not say a word, only stared at Ranko, then glanced sidelong and turned his face to regard Nabiki. There was no overt hostility in either expression or gesture, but a sense of contained energy, his silence alone being an ominous statement to both women. Nabiki informed him that they were there on assignment and when he turned back and regarded Ranko with the same flat, impersonal expression she told him that she was her adopted daughter. Ranko was shocked when she began telling him about how she was from a world that is presently in locked stasis, and about the pendant. Unfortunately as Nabiki was trying to convince Udan that there was no need to involve himself in their business Ranma returned. Seeing Udan near his wife and daughter he slammed into the towering Udan with a fist that glowed bright with righteous fury. The blow was so intense and incredible that an explosive wave of force rang out in all directions like a shotgun blast, only many times more intensive. Moreover still the shockwave it created caused Ranko to flinch away as a portion of the restaurant exploded outward and an entire section of the building was literally blown away by the kinetic shock wave that drove some people from their seats and made it seem to others as if the world were abruptly ending. When the blast was finally concluded Ranma stood with fist extended, his face contorted with hot emotions that had barely been contained by his release. Udan figure stood up tall and unaffected in a deep trench carved into the soil for about seventy meters away gazing back with disdain towards Saotome Ranma as though utterly indifferent to the rage that had been unleashed in his direction. As Ranma closed the distance to continue Nabiki explained to Ranko who Udan was. However Udan did not so much as flinch at Ranma’s assault he then drove a solid backhand into the face of his assailant, and all at once Ranma was rocketing backwards at such a great speed that he might well have been shot out from the muzzle of a canyon. The two rushed to his aid and when they found him attempting to continue the fight Nabiki used the spell of subjugation placed on a previous incarnation of Ranma’s. With that delt with the two woman picked Ranma up and loaded him up into a car, which presently was disguised to resemble a DeLorean. The presence of a Daokan cautioned Nabiki so she decided to head back to headquarters to run some tests and investigate all available data. Ranko was once again shocked when she turned around to the so-called "Dark Man" casually climbing back up into his truck as everything began to repair itself, and even the ground was soon as smooth and undisturbed as the asphalt had been before the battle. Nabiki informed her that it was Ulsa’s doing Back at the TCP HQ Nabiki stood over her monitoring station supervising Ryonami, her apprentice. As she explained to a confused Ranko that she wasn’t afraid of Udan just what he represented. The presence of the Daokan complicates matters enormously especially given Ranma’s animosity towards him. Ranma remained unapologetic earning him a warning look from his wife. This were further complicated when Ryonami detected that Reka was currently in 59343921 as well. She finally calmed down enough to explain to Ranko who the Daokan were. They were interrupted by Ryonami reporting a crisis flag a Furinkan High School. Looking into it they saw the Nabiki of that continuum fighting David Lo along with Angelique d'Anjou. As the anomaly was causing reverberations all along the timefield. Threatening to tear a hole in the very fabric of reality itself they needed to send in an agent to stop him. However since Nabiki refused to let Ranma go knowing that Udan was in the same plane. It was decided that Ranko would go instead. According to the monitors some major event was starting up in Nerima causing reverberations all over the time-charts. Nabiki pulled lot of strings to get her supervisor to agree to allow Ranko to do this field position alone. Ranko watched Keiko, Ryoga, Akane, Alison, Beiko, Kodachi heading towards the Tendo house with their kids marveling at how much she looked like a smaller version of Keiko while at the same time feeling like a voyeur. Nabiki informed her not to freak out about the small stuff and try to maintain a professional mindset. Their conversation was interrupted by Ranko sensing Udan. Nabiki quickly asked her where he was headed when she asked that he was heading to Furinkan she told her to follow him. Upon arriving Ranko was horrified at the level of destruction she saw. Staring in blank-eyed dismay at the crater formed in the ground where the Tendo Posse and their allies had been standing mere moments before, all caused by David Lo. Nabiki was able to calm her down by telling her that the sensor read that they were still alive. It turned out that David’s sword was the cause of the Temporal problem. Nabiki then had to remind Ranko about her pendent when she started to wonder how she was going to fight him. Ignoring his demands of who she was Ranko summoned her enchanted war-hammer reflexively began spinning her hammer around by its leather strap, creating a barrier against his attack before throwing it. As fast as David moved to block the throw his sword barely intercepted the hammer as force collided with force and caused a deafening ring in the air that staggered him backwards. Ranko threw her hammer again this time at his sword arm. David was clearly surprised and taken aback by her maneuver as her hammer-throw came close to literally disarming him, knocking the sword from his grasp and shattering several bones in the process. While shocked and in pain David refused to give up his mission. Then much to Ranko’s surprise he summoned up the force of his own spiritual energy to heal himself before using it attack her. Ranko dodge rapidly, feeling their searing heat come near to blistering her skin from but the very nearness of his flame strike. When she tried to hit him she found that it felt like punching solid iron Nabiki informed her that he had some kind of localized protection so switched back to her hammer. Distracted David missed Kuno sneaking up behind him and just as he was about to attack Ranko again Kuno stabbed him in the back. David cried out in horrified outrage, and in doing so his body emanated a wave of force that threw Tatewaki back. Pulling out the bokken he outline once again momentarily shimmered and distorted. Afterwards he wound was healed leaving nothing but a pink scar. Angel, Trudy, and Takaharis were able to dodge the attack so where there to inform her that he wasn’t getting stronger but merely losing touch with his human side. They instantly recognized her as a temporal counterpart to Ranma’s daughter so warned her to get scarce when he and Nabiki finally digged themselves out. Standing atop the clocktower of that building, Ranko surveyed the concluded battle zone reporting back to Nabiki, who informed her that the temporal anomaly appeared to be subsiding. With that Ranko returned for a debriefing. As they survived continuum 59343921 Ranma commented on how much that Ranma and Nabiki’s relationship reminded him of his own, causing his wife to tell him to shut up. He also commented about how nothings really changed with Ryonami earning him an elbow to the stomach. Since he had already dealt with Genocide before Ranma was already to handle him, but Nabiki still refused to allow him get anywhere near to the same continent as Udan. Meaning that Ranko had to take point in finding out what was going on. Nabiki had Ranko read up on Theosophy to better prepare her to deal with the Daokan. After she finished she and Ranma explained the thinks that confused her. when Ranko asked what their presence met for Lylac and Ekko Nabiki didn’t have an answer. Informing her adopted daughter that as there was a pending disruption to the timeline, suggesting that someone is attempting to tamper with the natural course of events, creating a crossover event that could erase the future timeline that she was familiar with. Ranko wondered how that was possible given that she’s met them already. Nabiki suggested that the Chaos Lords had something to with it. This started an argument between Ranma and Nabiki about the last time they met a Chaos Lord which Ranko quickly put a stop to asking them what the Chaos Lords were and how they were going to disrupt the timeline. They explained what the Chaos Lords were Nabiki stating that they were faced with nothing less than a bold faced attempt to erode the structure of a particular timeframe by direct intervention from forces with allegiance to the Outer Dark. And true to the perversity of their nature these dark forces are operating under the cover of light, pretending to be the opposite of what they actually are and using religion for a cover to pursue their evil objectives. The severity of this infiltration can be measured by the very fact that the Daokan are involved which had Nabiki deeply worried. As she was studying the Continuum she detected an anomaly forming around the Tendo Dojo. A neo-event directly disrupting probability lines nearly caused the total erasure of the normal flow of the timeline. Ranko asked what could do that only to perceive the sudden dark scowl that clouded Ranma’s expression. Who started yelling about how dare they do that to Nabiki. His wife calmed him down reminding him that it wasn’t actually her. Ranko in panic asked what was going on. Her parents explained that there was an assassination attempt on Lylac’s mother’s life, but it was voided before it could solidify into an actual event. Ranma who was making a forcible effort to calm himself down suspected that it was either Ulsa or Anri who did it. However as Nabiki searched for who fired she discovered Reka’s presence and he was attacking Kasumi. Ranma and Ranko were about to go rescue her but Nabiki still refused to let Ranma go and sent Ranko by herself. Ranko watched the battle between Reka and the counterparts of her parents as she relayed back to them what was going on. When Ranma’s Elemental’s started springing out causing the battle to pause as everyone started talking to each other, since she couldn’t hear Ranko attempted to get closer only to be quickly told no by her mother. Instead they sent Cheshire to her as her enhanced hearing would allow her to rely to Ranko what was being said. The pokegirl was shocked to see Reka the father of all flame types and told Rank that he sent Kasumi to Thirty-five AD Palestine. When Reka conjured up a wall of flames blocking Ranma and Nabiki’s path Ranko told Cheshire to wait there while she went it to keep visual. Naturally the Pokegirl ignored her. Ranko expressing shock at Reka’s prowess alerted Lenore to their presence. Cheshire became aware of her when she shifted her vision to see them, and before her heightened senses could make sense of the heat distortion patterns they grabbed her. not wanting to fight so close to a full-scale battle with one of the Daokan, Lenore allowed herself to be escorted to the rim of the fire line where they had just enough of a margin to avoid getting caught up directly into the middle of the fray. When Ranma and Nabiki shifted their elemental tactics and gained the upper hand Ranko once again revealed who she was when she began cheering them on. Deciding to end the charade Lenore dissolved into mist freeing herself and grabbed Cheshire. Not wanting her Pokegirl to get hurt Ranko revealed that they were agents though Lenore had already guest that they must be time agents given Ranko’s appearance. Their conversation was rendered academic as the three-way battle between Reko and the Saotomes shifted into higher gear. Knowing that it was only a matter of time before Reka starts using more of his abilities Lenore called Frank to inform him what was going on. When Reka summoned a geyser of lava the three began to panic as not only where Ranma and Nabiki to exhausted to do anything but knew they weren’t a match for Reka. Luckily the two were rescued by the arrival of Kasumi. While Kasumi was able to get the drop Reka and drain some of his essence, his level of power proved to be too much for Kasumi who recoiled away in agonized horror, her very blood on fire as she screamed at the raw essence of fury that she had drawn from her nominal victim. Seeing this Lenore came out of hiding to check on her goddess. Ranma and Nabiki were about to as well only to be distracted by the presence of Ranko and Cheshire. By this point Anri came to put a stop to this. Reka showed little remorse for his actions. However Anri wasn’t there to argue semantics he was there to get Reka to apologize for hurting his daughter. When Reka refused Anri revealed that Udan was there as well who promptly knocked him out. Anri introduced Ranma and Nabiki to Udan and Ulsa as well as Amalthea who they recognized as resembling David. As well as Ranko and Cheshire. Ranko quickly tried to leave only to be stopped by Anri perpetrated by Udan glaring at them. Anri apologized on behalf of his brother, before everyone left so that they could properly explain what was going on. They took Ranma, Nabiki, Kasumi, Lenore, Amalthea, Ranko and Cheshire to The Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem. Where Anri finally explained the nature of the Daokan and his past incarnation of Yesus Ben Yusef as well as the history of humanity. Ranko and Cheshire forced to explain their lineage. Cheshire was the first grow impatient and demanded to know what brought her and Ranko to that timeline. Anri explained Holocaust the true being behind Otono and the Umakusa Suekazen Society whose aim was to unleash a pestilence upon Japan to further his goals for greater power. Anri was just about to go into the specifics about why Otono was out to destroy the Tendo’s when the group was asked to leave as the visiting hours were over. After explaining the nature of Christ Mithra Sol Ivictus Anri showed them the back-stage story of what it means to be dead and living in either Hell or Heaven. Their first stop was the land of Nod. Lenore’s knowledge of the Kabala allowed her to recognize the place. As they toured the realm they witnessed the arrival of Akhmed Muhammad Pulavi a suicide bomber and his victims. Despite what Akhmed was told he was not greeted by seventy virgin Houri but dragged to Malabolge by Erinyes. The silence that followed this incident was broken only by Anri’s regret on having to do that. Akhmed’s victims were equally as shaken as Nabiki and the others, but the lead of the trio managed to ask Anri who he was. Anri replied with his usual modesty as they began to fade from view, becoming misty lights that rose up into the sky and vanished altogether. However he was interrupted from going back to his discussion by the arrival of Michael. Michael had come because he heard that Anri had been once again harassing his staff, so he was furious to find him interfering with their appointed rounds of gathering the fallen and conveying them to their place of destination. Anri tried to explain that he merely delayed a few travelers for the span of an instant, but Michael wouldn’t budge and the fact he had brought mortals only made him angrier. Not even when Reka decided to comment or Anri reminded him of the looming crisis did he back down. Only when Udan made his presence known did he start to show fear, but he still refused to be intimidated. However the change in Michael's attitude and manner when Kasumi asked him to let them continue was striking. All at once he was down on one knee with head bowed, even as the other glowing figures made similar gestures of supplication in the direction of the astonished Tendo sister. Now that they were aware that the divine Goddaughter of the Central Manager for Michael’s department was there Anri had far more leverage. As Nabiki was pondering Michaels abrupt change in behavior. Michael’s daughter Jerika went up to Ranma as she sensed a familiar presence from him. Not wanting to deal with another Elemental Nabiki shoved herself into the path between them. Michael apologized for Jerika’s immaturity Kasumi apologized to Jerika for Nabiki’s outburst, and much to Nabiki’s frustration Thelendra asked if Jerika would be their tour guide. Surprised that a goddess was asking permission rather than demanding it Jerika agreed. Their next stop was Heaven. Of all those present, only the dark-meined Udan seemed truly out of place in this lofty setting, a shadow amid the brilliant colors of eternal spring who manifested an entirely discordant aura, not so much antagonistic as more reflecting a breath of winter chilling the ground upon which he was standing. Lenore also seemed somewhat out of place in these environs, but there was a look almost of rapture in her eyes as if she yearned to be a part of such a peaceful landscape, to walk among the fields and plains without the taint of Vampirism giving her a negative glow that absorbed the light around her, causing a partial fading in everything that came near her. Flowers wilted and grass turned brown at her feet, a phenomenon not at all consistent with Kasumi's aura, which had the opposite effect, causing things to bloom with radiant life as if joyfully enraptured by her presence. Reka burned brightly in the endless sun of day, but the smolder he represented was the hot breath of a desert wind disturbing the landscape and threatening to turn the verdant green into the ash of a drought ridden summer. Clearly he did not fit in any more than his brother, yet he stood aloof rather than hostile to all that he was viewing as if mindful to respect his place and not intrude upon the good fortune and happiness of others. Amalthea was another to whom this strange dominion seemed both appropriate and fitting, and as she gazed around with puzzled eyes she noted how familiar everything felt. Doubtlessly it was the presence of the blonde named Ulsa who was tempering her brother's flame, for she seemed quite at home within these environs and radiated her own potent aura of life-enhancing emanation. It was here that Kasumi, Nabiki, and Ranma got to see Kimiko. Anri tried to continue his lecture only to be stopped by Ulsa so that the four could have their reunion. During this she and Reka also transformed Ranko back into her true form so she and Ranma would no longer be in stereo. After their greetings and explaining how their lives turned out Kimiko turned away and returned to what she was doing, leaving all three of her closest family members staring in amazement, unable to shake a sense that the Tendo matron was somehow turning back to her day-to-day existence and gradually forgot about their presence, her eyes settling into her task with a pleasant glaze that seemed contended and a bit too dreamy. Anri assured them that this was just the nature of the realm they were in. Kimiko had responded to their presence since they were still living before going back to living out the dreams of her existence. Jerika was explaining Kimiko’s (as well as Kasumi’s former) nature as a Template when Peorth arrived. Peorth initially didn’t recognize the three though she did recognize Kasumi’s resemblance to Belldandy. At least until Thelendra reminded her of the wish she performed ten years ago. Unfortunately Anri chose to leave before she could say anything. He took them to Malabolge so that they could see further along the gradual path of evolution that the soul undertakes, from death to the afterlife, from the highest to the lowest and back again. The group watched in dismay as the Erinyes went about their work tormenting lost souls. Jerika called her father out for constantly butting in as she was the one hired to guide them. This nearly started a fight between the two as Michael still considered her to young before Anri stepped in. They then went to the transition point in the afterlife where souls are channeled and prepared for reincarnation. The Daokan also went into more detail about the nature of the Eluini. However the actual reason they were brought there was to show them the Old Ones. As they started up at the creatures Ranma and Nabiki noted that one of them was staring at them. that was the true enemy Baal Ariman Yahweh the forsaken, False God and enemy of all Creation. Who saw the two a threat to his dark ambitions. This prompted a discussion of the connection between Hebrew and greek mythology to explain how Yahweh got his name. During which Amalthea accidently revealed that Lao was her former Mistress. She also almost revealed that Lao recently gave birth to Nabiki’s child but was stopped by Ulsa. Though Nabiki noted the way she regarded her new "pet", and got a sudden lurching sense in her stomach from it. However this did force them to get to the point of the discussion the Shimubara Rebelion. Otono is the direct linear descendant of Amakuza Shiro. Just as the Tendo and Saotome clans themselves had ancestors who took part in suppressing that rebellion. At this point Yahweh began to feed on the soul energy of the recently deceased Fundamentalists Christians. Since they were followers of the false Yahweh Jerika had no sympathy for them, causing her father to call her insensitivity. The group watched as the Heaven's Aerial Defense Force which included Kimiko marshaled to repel him. Unfortunately while the weapons they had effective against any lesser demon of the outer dark. A greater Old One was a different story. So the Daokan decided to step up. Hearing this Michael gave the order for his troops to withdraw as the Daokan united to form the Incarnation. Michael and Jerika fell to their knees and bowed their heads in abject submission to her, while Thelendra too bowed her head deeply and manifested a posture of differential respect and humility that made Kasumi take notice. The divine Tendo sister herself felt an emotional stirring of amazement as she basked in the light of the inhumanly beautiful giant, while Nabiki and Ranma stood to the sidelines with Amalthea, Ranko and Cheshire, mouths hanging agape, while Lenore herself lay utterly prostrate as if hoping not to be noticed in the light of such perfection. They were driven to their knees by the clash between this Celestial being and the monstrous beings known as Old Ones that seemed to go on and on for an eternity all about them, threatening to drown out all of existence with the violence of these awful exchanges. Once Yahweh was driven off and the Daokan separated again they took the group back to their world both to spare them from further psychic trauma and to explain what happened. Seeing that level of power Ranma and Nabiki realized that what the Daokan need at the time was a lower caliber of ammunition that hits the target without creating too much collateral damage. Since if they fought it would most likely destroy the universe. Unfortunately the Old One hadn’t been completely driven back and ended up possessing Lenore. As Ranma, Nabiki and Kasumi watched in dismay as their friend and retainer was horribly afflicted by a thing of nightmare. The possessed Lenore turned to Michael and called him out for changing sides. However Michael didn’t take the bait and calmly stated that Moloch died along time ago. Before the conversation could go any further she was killed by Reka. As the others turned on him Reka flatly stated it was unavoidable. Anri mediated stating that it wasn’t the goal that they were objecting to but the excessive means he used to solve the problem. Ulsa to agreed that Lenore didn’t deserve such a fate so had Udan resurrect her. Michael found himself pushed out of the way as Kasumi rushed to huge the resurrected Lenore who had no memory of what happened. Reka brought the conversation back to him, he still didn’t believe that that they were strong enough to deal with the Old Ones. Unfortunately Udan agreed. Since he didn’t feel that Ranma and Nabiki were up to task he decided that he would deal with it personally. Knowing that such a battle would destroy their universe Ranma challenged Udan for the right to face Otono. Much to everyones horror this caused Udan to laugh. Amused Udan accepted Ranma’s challenge and gave both him and Nabiki much to her surprise three days to prepare. With that he, Ulsa and Amalthea were about to take their leave only to be stopped by Reka. Reka was angry that Udan was trying usurp his position of challenging the couple. Udan replied that he better back off since he knew his greatest weakness. Reka laughed at the notion that he feared man or beast causing Anri to remind him that she was neither. Reka started to fearfully edge away only be yanked back by his ear by his wife Verigar. Everyone who wasn’t an Eluini or Angel collectively gasped upon realizing who she was. Anri decided to intervene by greeting his sister-in-law. Verigar sounded delightfully charmed as she greeted Anri back while not releasing her iron-grip upon her "husband." She was a little disappointed to find that Udan, Ulsa and Amalthea had already left. Telling Reka it was time he spent time with his family the lovely green haired woman dragged the protesting Reka away , the both of them vanishing as suddenly as the Lady Ulsa, which left Anri and the others to stare in mixed reaction to their sudden passage. Ranko decided that it was best that she and Cheshire leave as well and called her back into her pokeball, before saying goodbye to her paratime parents. Ranko informed her parents what happened. Needless to say Ranma and Nabiki were shocked that not only were all the Daokan together in the same place, but Anri had given a straight answer. However they were horrified at the thought that their younger counterparts had challenged Udan to a fight. Though there main concern the fact that Ariman and the Old Ones might be using the Amakuza and Otono Watanabi in an attempt to breach of the line across the Timewall. Ranma and Nabiki had, had plenty of experience with different types of demons and after hearing about some of them Ranko wondered if Genocide was the cause behind everything. The thought that Genocide was in league with Ariman wasn’t a good one. Worried about her friends Ranko decided to go to the future. She found them discussing a party they were having later in honor of their fathers promotion and was quickly noticed by Lilith Stein. While Lylac greeted her pleasantly Ekko was less inviting, and clearly irritated about having her "quality time" with Lylac be interrupted by yet another crisis. Ranko asked them about Otono and the startled looks in their eyes was confirmation enough of Ranko's own worst suspicions on the subject, and all at once the resentful regard of the redheaded Ekko disappeared, replaced by deep concern and intellectual speculation. Unfortunately since they were just kids at the time there wasn’t much they could tell her. Seeing the comradely between her friends Ranko just how much was at stake for this timeline if the crisis in the past were not resolved in a positive and decisive manner Much to Ekko’s frustration the group called Gamina to help them. Lylac took odd amusement at her 'best friend's unease at trusting the half-Gremlin near to her precious, all-important laboratory secrets. Sadly while she was able to confirm that the Crisis Point was indeed a turbulent moment pivotal in their history that was it. However she was able to determine that Ariman was attempting to stop something in the future making them wonder what could possibly pose a threat to one of the Old Ones. At that moment Veil and Tenko arrived Ranko raised her own eyebrows at the sight of them for there was much evidence about them of great haste that suggested that these two had been interrupted in the middle of something very personal, and it was not all that difficult to imagine the scope and nature of their business. Through her probing Gamina sensed the destruction of the Blazing Cross of Glory Cathedral. The fact that Anri’s signature was so blatant led the group to think that he was deliberately leaving a false trail. Since Ekko was the one with the best memory she called her files up and cross-referenced some names that she vaguely remember being mentioned in the background. Ranko brought all of her paratime sibling to the Time Patrol Central in a Holo-Chamber so that so many Nexus’ in one place didn’t disrupt time. She quickly started to wonder if this were really such a good idea involving this many in her private personal crusade, or if she might be abusing her rather limited authority as an agency of the Time Force in organizing this event, which was highly unorthodox and went against several major provisions of the Time Force Charter. Needless to say there were several groans when Lylac told them that there was another crisis. Shamran eventually grew impatient and told them to cut to the chase. Lylac and Veil went on to explain about how the Old One’s are trying to alter the past in order to void their existence. Essentially they are now against the actual cause of many of their difficulties. Katai pointed out that a lot of them didn’t exist before the Old Ones started manipulating their timeline. This got Ranko to nervously admit that some of them weren’t around the first time she met Ekko-chan and Lylac. Conditioner ended up explaining what was going on since Ranko agreed with Geeena that Ekko’s explanation would be to confusing. Since events within their timeline was fluid the enemy sought to take advantage of this to further their own agenda, only to have the unintended consequence of bringing some of them into existence…much as anti-bodies are released to combat a foreign infection Sayo got the conversation back on tract by asking what other reasons could the Old Ones have to go to all this fuss and bother. Veil did some research on her own and determined that they were worried about something that happens twenty years from now. There is something extraordinary that is fated to happen in the year 2042 that could potentially alter the very balance of darkness and light within their timeline. However she was unable to isolate the event specifically, or even identify what is supposed to happen. When Veil explained they were afraid of something that happens in the year 2042 Silver pointed out that there still wasn’t anything for those not from Continuum-59343921 to do. Watazashi Kuno reluctantly agreed that the events they outlined seemed to require more finesse than a mass assault from a mob as large as their own assemble ranks. Lylac admitted that they were still working on the details. However they believed they had away to work most of everybody into their plans for curbing the mischief that the Old Ones were seeding into the cosmos. Gamina spoke up at this point having completed her research she confirmed Veil’s suspicions and introduced everyone to Heiko Managi. Geena seeing the resemblance asked if she was her mother, but Heiko denied it and called her Aunt Gee. Lylac realized that made Ekko her mother so asked who her father was. There was a very long silence and a pause that followed this question, then Lylac slowly answered herself as she saw the look Eileen turned towards her. They listened as Heiko explained who she was, it eventually became too much for Lylac and Ekko who fainted forcing Shamran and Geena to leap up on the stage to catch them before they hit the ground. The group were shocked when Heiko informed them that the reason the Old Ones were after her was because she killed one of them. She went on to explain how but was stopped by Geena as she had inherited her mother’s penchant for big words. With this revelation Veil felt that it was best to adjust their plans accordingly to take into account this new complication. At this point Ranma and Nabiki realized what she was doing and sent Cheshire to go get her. Ranko had Meiko take over for her. Ranko arrived to find her parents watching Anri train David. She weakly waved a hand and affected a jaunty mood that she hardly felt, only to have her expression turn to pure astonishment as she caught sight of Udan Ranma quickly calmed her down. Her parents explained what was going on as well as revealed that they knew what she had been up to. Ranko blush at the realization of just how transparent she was before her parents. Nabiki was also aware of Heiko’s existence. This revelation shocked Ranma who realized that she was the reason the Daokan were involved. Udan confirmed this however he also expressed his regret that with with Ahriman striking in the past against Heiko even the Daokan’s hands were tied since acting against him now would be to court universe-shattering disaster. Ranko was quick to speak up on behalf of her friend refusing to let Udan just destroy the universe. Udan’s scowl became almost menacing, and genuine irritation showed traces within his dark brown eyes. Pointing out that there was no other way. The Daokan dare not act too brazenly to supply their own agents to serve as a counterbalance or the combined weight of such force will by itself destabilize the Cosmos. Therefore they must act through servants and agents already in the field…and he fears the balance is currently heavily weighted against them. This caused Nabiki to eye the dark man with a sense of knowing something to which even a near-omniscient being such as this was not yet privy. Ranko asked if her temporal siblings joining would help. Udan answered that they must act in teams and for limited intervals, and only where they can do the most good, which require split-second timing that would be difficult even for a full-fledged Time Lord. Any more than and their very presence could destabilize the Timeline and cause a collapse through which Ahriman might appear, seeking to harvest as many souls as he could reach directly with his tendrils. Instead of a deterrent this gave Ranko hope telling Udan not to sell her friends out so soon and reminded him that she had Yggdrassil to back her up. Udan considered this, and this time was not so quick to register dismissal. However he still pointed out that it still required that Ranma and Nabiki’s younger counterparts be strong enough. Ranma and Nabiki assured Udan that would be the case as he himself would find out within a day. With that the dark man turned and strode away, and within a few long strides mounted the cabin of his Kenworth truck and climbed back into the driver’s seat before starting the rig up with a belch of fire and smoke, then wheeling it around and pulling away into the surf, turning his mighty eighteen wheeled conveyance away from the shore and towards the landward shoreline. Ranko turned away from the sight and confronted her adoptive parents with a mildly hurt expression. She called them out for so callously throwing Lylac’s parents to the wolves. Nabiki told Ranko that they knew what they were doing and that she should never be so quick to write off a member of their clan when their back is up against the wall and the odds seem wildly against their favor. With that Ranko took them back to the Halochamber so that they could meet Heiko. Personality Relationships Ranko looked up to her father as a role model in spite of his insistence that he wanted her to turn out "better than he did" at her age. By contrast her real mother was a bit of a quandary, a walking paradox chock full of self-contradiction. Kind yet temperamental, often violently brutal with those who upset her, quick to forgive and sympathize even with someone who had wronged her, a real charmer in many ways, a real klutz in others. She alternately liked and hated boys her own age and seemed to have strong latent currencies of same-sex attraction that were buried beneath a wall of self-denial that added a lot to her irritable nature. It was hard to know whether or not she would have liked her real mother as a classmate or possibly fallen under the spell of her charms, which seemed to work best with the parties against whom she was the most abusive. Ranko recognized within herself many of these selfsame traits, and yet she had grown up admiring a woman who had been her mother's worst enemy, Kuno Kodachi, who had taught Ranko all that there was to know about Martial Arts Rhythmic Gymnastics. It seemed that her "Aunt Kodachi" had been hopelessly infatuated with Ranko's father, who not only did not return her affections but was openly afraid of her, a pattern Ranko had seen repeated on numerous other timelines. Perhaps that was why she was the most fond of a Saotome sister named Watazashi, the daughter of Kodachi and Ranma on a world where their engagement had been regarded as the "true" one. Equipment The Heart of Destiny: Silverbolt: A counterpart of the mystical hammer Mjolnir Sword of Sensuality: Ranko is currently the wielder of one of the Seven Swords of Power. Powers & Abilities Thanks to the Heart of Destiny Ranko has been integrated with all of the martial skills of 44 of her parallel siblings fortifying the base skills provided to her by Happosai. Furthermore she was further trained by her adopted father and regularly spars with him. Her position as an Apprenticed Time Cop and Agent of Yggdrasil has given her a chance to learn a substantial number of techniques and styles. However while she has the skills and the training, she doesn’t have the experience of a certified field worker. Notes When Ranko used the pendant to go back in time and prevent her mother from killing her Father she placed herself and the rest of her universe in stasis. Fortunately the pendant insulates her from the probability Paradox caused by her own actions. Unfortunately this means Ranko can never take the pendant off. Category:Continuum-29715382 Category:Temporal Nexus (Timecop/Lord Calvin of Otherwhen)